Axa S.A. Sells 45,689 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Axa S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 45,689 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP raised its position in shares of Hess by 154.1% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $183,697,000 after acquiring an additional 837,662 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Hess by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,521,499,000 after acquiring an additional 698,866 shares during the last quarter. TIG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. TIG Advisors LLC now owns 927,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $123,344,000 after purchasing an additional 466,518 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Hess by 183.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 594,425 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,064,000 after purchasing an additional 384,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.46.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $129.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.72 and a 200-day moving average of $141.52.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.